Carla Decker, Bounty Hunter
by Sanura Bey
Summary: Carla Decker is a Bounty Hunter who helps out the police on some of their cases. She had a good reputation not only with the police but with her clients in LA. When her rep goes south after Palmetto, she leaves LA for personal reasons only coming back to help her family and at the call of an old friend.
1. Decker and Morningstar

I sat at the bar knocking back shots after a bad day. I was supposed to be meeting my friend who'd wanted to meet with the owner of the club Lux. I'd curled my blonde hair and had very light makeup. I wasn't here to pick anyone up, as tempting as the man just down the bar was. There was something about him I just couldn't pinpoint what it was, and I could read people like a like a book. I turned around to look for my friend and frowned when I saw the man sitting on the back of a couch. I looked at the bar before looking back at him. It was the same guy! But how? I looked at the empty glass in my hand. What the hell did that bartender give me to make me see things without feeling drunk? I put the glass down and shook my head.

"Another shot?" I looked up to see the bartender raise her thin eyebrow at me.

"No, I'm good." I got up and moved to the side of the dance floor. I stared at the people, watching them writhe with each other. It must have been nice to be with someone like that. I watched the mystery guy leave before looking back at the people. Questions ran through my head at the couple in front of me. How many of them actually knew each other before tonight? Were they happy? Where was she? I looked around at the people looking for my friend and sighed. She wasn't going to show. I left the club and walked around for a bit. I was annoyed I was stood up by my friend... again. I was going to kill her!

* * *

"Damn it!" I whispered as I tried calling my friend. Why wasn't she answering me? I heard gunshots then tires screeching on the road. I ran towards the sound in time to see a bus hit a car and push it before flipping it. I stared at the car before seeing two people laying on the glass covered ground. I ran to them and knelt down next to the woman and felt her throat. No heartbeat. I looked down her bullet-riddled body and sighed. I moved to the man and jumped, screaming a little, as he sat up gasping.

"Hey, you okay?" I asked him making him look me in the eyes. He ripped his face from my hand and looked at the woman. He reached for her face but didn't touch her. "I'm sorry. She's gone." He was shaking with, what seemed like, anger. He stood up and went to the smoking car. I stayed where I was and the watched the man look in the car at the driver.

"Oh, no, no, no, not yet," he told him. He grabbed the man by the color of his shirt and the driver gasped as he was forced to look at the man. I jumped up and moved to the man's side, staring. There was no way this guy was still alive. "What did you do?

"I'm sorry," the man rasped.

"Sorry. Why did you end her life?" the man next to me asked.

"Why else? Money."

"Money. Oh, it's times like this I wish I was still in Hell." I looked at the man next to me. What did he mean "still in Hell"? "All the fun activities I'd have planned for you."

"Hey, man, I just pulled the trigger," he rasped to us.

"Who ordered the hit on her?" I asked him. His eyes moved to me before he gasped and exhaled his life away. I took a deep breath before moving back to the woman's side. The man was hot on my heels as I knelt next to her. Why'd she have to stand me up?

* * *

I sat in the bar as the police questioned me about what happened the man was playing the piano. I'd learned he was the owner of the club, Lucifer Morningstar. The name rang some sort of bell in my head, but I couldn't quite reach it. I kept my head low, trying to avoid the eyes of the detective questioning him. The last thing I needed was my twin sister turning her frustrations on me.

"Name?"

"Carla."

"Last name."

"Decker. Carla Decker. I'm a bounty hunter."

"You here to collect on someone?" he asked me.

"No. I was meeting a friend."

"Where is your friend?"

"Dead. Gunned down by a dick in a car who wanted money." The officer shared a look with his partner next to him. "What? Never heard a girl get pissed at something before?"

"Carla?" I winced lightly and turned to see my sister.

"Hey, Chlo,"

"What the hell are you doing here?" she asked grabbing my arm and pulling me from my seat another part of the room.

"Having a life. Maybe you should try it," I told her sarcastically. She sighed and a man walked up to us.

"You're the woman from before," he looked me up and down before offering his hand. "Lucifer Morningstar."

"Carla Decker. Thank you for helping her," I said taking his hand and shaking it.

"Helping her?"

"Her deal was with you, right?" I asked him. "Introducing her to the right people so she could live her dream."

"You knew the victim?" Chloe asked me and I nodded.

"Yeah, Delilah was my friend. She said she wanted to meet with him before partying with me here at Lux," I told her. "When I thought she stood me up I left, trying to get ahold of her. That's when I heard the gunshots."

"Ok, let's go home," Chloe ordered before grabbing my arm and pulling me with her.

"Wait, what will your corrupt little organization do about this?" Lucifer asked grabbing my other arm to stop us.

"Excuse me?" Chloe asked him.

"Will you find the person responsible? Will they be punished? Will this be a priority for you? Because it is for me," he told us.

"You got some balls on you, pal," Chloe said adjusting her stance while pulling me to her.

"Oh, thank you very much, but they're really quite average," Lucifer told us smirking while he looked down at his crotch making me follow his gaze.

"I've seen better," his smirk fell at my words while I gave him one of my own.

"Now, are you sure that we haven't met?" Lucifer asked looking Chloe up and down before looking at me. "I could swear I've seen you naked. Have we had sex?" Chloe shook her head with a small smile on her face.

"We're done here." Chloe pulled me behind her.

"Uh, Detective, wait!" Lucifer pulled my arm back to him and me into his chest. "Someone out there needs to be punished. We're not done."

"Yeah. Yeah, we are." Chloe gave my arm another good pull before dragging me out of Lux.

* * *

"What the hell were you thinking, going to a place like that?" Chloe asked me once we got back to mom's house.

"Like I said, I have a life, Chloe. I was going to have fun with a friend. You should try it sometime," I told her. She unlocked the door and we walked in lowering our voices.

"I have a life."

"No, you have Trixie, your job, and your ruined marriage."

"Now hold on..."

"What, did you suddenly get interesting in the last few years?" She just stared at me in shock at my words. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get to sleep for work tomorrow."

"What job are you working on? How did you get a job so soon after just getting back in town?" She asked me.

"You don't talk to me about police cases and I don't talk about my clients. You know that." I told her while going to my borrowed room.

"You have to tell me if you're going to interfere in a police investigation, Carla. That way I can..."

"What? That way you can what? Protect me from your peers? That didn't stop them from crucifying me about Palmetto. Your precinct asked me for help and I lost all my clients in this town because of that. One bad word from the local caps and I'm out of a job."

"That's why you left? Because you lost your clients?"

"You and I have both suffered because of Palmetto. I had to get away for awhile so I could deal with the fallout. Now, I'm back."

"And have a client?"

"This one knows me."

"Who is your client?"

"Goodnight, Chloe."

* * *

The next day, I drove my motorcycle to the first area I needed to be. I wouldn't fit in with the crowd, but I was looking for a killer and I needed to stand out for this one. Especially if it was a bust. When I arrived at my destination I pulled my helmet off and swung off my bike. I looked at a convertible, questioning it, before moving on. I wasn't here to stare at a car. When I walked into the ceremony area my mouth nearly fell to the floor at the man I saw.

"I mean, what is this - a wedding or a kidnapping?" Lucifer Morningstar asked as he walked up to the bride and groom. "Do you know what I mean?" he asked a member of the audience before sighing. The preacher was making the sign of the cross as I leaned on the entrance. "Yeah, good luck with that padre. Ooh, while you're at it, say hey for me. It's been a while." he chuckled as the preacher backed away from him. "Jimmy Barnes! Remember me?"

"Hey, man, this is a private event. Please take your friend and leave," Jimmy nearly begged Lucifer while avoiding his eyes. Lucifer turned and stared at me confused.

"What are you doing here?"

"Working," I said walking up the aisle to join them.

"How did you two get in here?" Jimmy asked us.

"Yeah, and quite a lavish one for a record producer on the outs. You do remember me, don't you?"

"Yeah, yeah, I remember you." Jimmy nodded. "Now, what do you want? I'm a little busy."

"Well, I can't believe that you're getting married the day after your ex-fiancee and once brightest star was murdered in cold blood," Lucifer pointed out and I watch as Jimmy kept moving from one foot to the other while avoiding his gaze.

"Yeah, that's very sad. But you know what, she ruined my wedding once," Jimmy reminded us. "I'm not about to let that happen again."

"It's hard to be rejected, isn't it, Jimmy?" Lucifer asked him. "Twice." he chuckled.

"How did he manage to land you?" I asked looking at the bride.

"What?" Jimmy asked looking between us.

"You tried to get her back, what? A few weeks ago?" I asked him.

"I mean, I'd kill someone if they denied me once," Lucifer pointed out. "Not that that's possible."

"What would you do if they denied you twice?" I asked looking at Jimmy.

"So, come on, what do you say, Jimbo, huh? Did you want her dead?" Lucifer asked him.

"Look, stop looking at me that way, you freak," Jimmy told him and I looked between them confused. "I am not playing that mind game with you. No, of course not! I was furious and I was humiliated when she dumped me, but I think, I-I think I've rebounded pretty well."

"Yes, clearly. Respect." Lucifer looked the woman up and down and she smiled at him.

"You should go play your mind games with 2Vile," Jimmy told us.

"The rapper?"

"Yeah, Delilah dumped me for that lunatic," Jimmy told us. "They were always fighting. He slapped her around a bunch. He surrounds himself with gun-toting morons 24-7. He is the real deal."

"Right," Lucifer said slowly before turning to the bride. "Sorry, how rude. Allow us to introduce ourselves. Lucifer Morningstar and Carla Decker."

"Decker?" Jimmy asked looking at me. "That bounty hunter Delilah was always hanging around?"

"That's right." I smiled at him.

"Why are you here?"

"My client wants the person behind Delilah's murder brought to justice."

"Who's your client?"

"Delilah."

"I really don't want to have sex with him tonight," the bride suddenly told us and I held in my laughter as the congregation gasped behind me. "Oh, my... I'm sorry, I... I can't believe I just said that."

"Oh, no, no, no. Let's be honest here," Lucifer told her. "I mean, you're not marrying this human stain cause you're actually in love with him, right?"

"God no."

"No. Right." Lucifer clapped his hands before looking at Jimmy again. "Well, we should get going."

"But it just got awkward. I love awkward," I told him, smiling.

"We have a rapper to visit," he reminded me before taking my hand in his and turning away from the wedding party. "Ooh! Best of luck with you crazy kids, all right?" Lucifer let go of my hand long enough to give them two thumbs up before grabbing it again and pulling me outside. He walked to the convertible and I nodded.

"Nice ride," he smirked at me before looking behind me to my bike.

"Care for a lift?"

"I'm not leaving my bike for us to pick up later," I told him, leaning on said item.

"I'll have Maze come and get it." I stared at him before nodding my head.

"She better not scratch my baby," I told him as I got into his car with him.

* * *

When we arrived at 2Vile's house I looked up at it and sighed.

"Right, give me a sec and we'll be ready," I told him, taking off my leather jacket. I ripped the shirt I was wearing to show my cleavage and balled it up to show my abdomen. I pulled a hair tie out from my pocket and pulled my hair into a low ponytail on the side of my head. "Ok, ready."

"And how are you proposing to get in?" he asked me.

"You ever pretend to be a pimp before?" I asked him with a smirk on my face. We got out of the car and walked up to the door. Lucifer rang the doorbell and I waited beside him for the butler to let us in.

"Good afternoon, sir."

"Yes, we're here to see the man sadly known aw 2Vile - is he in?" Lucifer asked the man.

"I'm sorry, sir. He's unavailable. He's in mourning, I'm afraid."

"That's why I'm here," I said smiling at him. "To help with the pain of his loss."

"Right this way, sir. Ma'am." The butler led us to 2Vile who was sitting in a room filled with smoke and rap music blaring through the speakers.

"Can someone please turn down this god-awful music!" Lucifer called out. "Hello, disc jokey!" the music was turned down. "Thank you."

"Who're these clowns?" 2Vile asked his man.

"She's here to help you mourn, sir."

"My name is Lucifer Morningstar, and this lovely young woman is Carla Decker."

"Lucifer Morningstar?" 2Vile laughed. "Now, that's a good hip-hop name."

"Well, that offends me," Lucifer told him and the smile on 2Vile's face fell.

"What, you don't like hip-hop?" 2Vile asked while motioning to the things around him.

"No, I most certainly do not," Lucifer told him as we moved to the man.

"Well, that offends me," 2Vile said. "You have a problem with black people?"

"How did you get that from what he said?" I asked him.

"No, not in the slightest. I just hate your music," Lucifer corrected him which made him laugh. "And when I say "your music", I mean your music. Not music made by other black people. Without the blues, there'd be no devil's music whatsoever. There are, of course, many giants in the field. Just not you - am I being clear?"

"Yeah," 2Vile chuckled. "You're being clear all right."

"Good."

"If you're looking to get you and your girl killed." The men surrounding us stood up and loaded their guns.

"Yes, well, don't wast your munitions - I'm immortal," Lucifer told them.

"Yeah, well I'm not," I reminded him as I eyed them.

"Tell us about Delilah."

"You ain't seen the news?" 2Vile asked. "Bitch is dead." Before I could do anything, Lucifer grabbed 2Vile's shirt and pushed him through the glass behind him shattering it immediately. I dropped as shots went off at Lucifer "Don't shoot, you idiot! I stood up and stared at Lucifer as he held 2Vile over the edge of the balcony by the gold chains around his neck. "I didn't kill her."

"Why should I believe you?" Lucifer asked him.

"Because I loved the girl."

"People sometimes kill people with whom they're in love," Lucifer pointed out. "The heart's mysterious. So I'm told."

"Ain't like that," 2Vile swore. "Girl made me crazy!"

"Women can do that. Doesn't mean you should beat them up, does it?" Lucifer asked him.

"We worked that out a long time ago. I hit her once 'cause I found out she was cheating on me," 2Vile told him. I moved to them and looked down at the man.

"With who?" I asked him. Lucifer brought 2Vile back onto the balcony but still kept a good grip on him.

"I don't know. I don't know. She wouldn't tell me, all right? Said it was a big secret, some-some, uh, rich married guy," 2Vile told us. Lucifer looked at me.

"She didn't tell me anything or I would have gone there first," I told him.

"Well, does she have any other friends she might've confided in?" Lucifer asked him.

"She didn't trust no one, man. Uh, uh, her therapist. Her therapist is probably the only one who knows," he said. "She-She's some, uh, uh, Dr. Linda in-in Beverly Hills. Saw her, like, five times a week on the DL. Used a fake name, everything."

"Oh, did she now?" Lucifer asked him. "Well, thank you for your time." Lucifer patted 2Vile on the shoulder and as we turned to walk away...

"LAPD! Guns down. On the floor, down!" she ordered walking in with the butler. "You two against the wall.

"Detective, welcome to the party," Lucifer greeted.

"Grab the bucket, collect the guns." the manservant did as ordered. "Now!"

"You sly dog, you did listen to me."

"I ran the dead guy's cell phone. 2Vile was the last person he called," Chloe told us.

"Come on, man."

"What I find highly interesting is how you made the connection on your own," Chloe said looking at us.

"I'm good at what I do, no thanks to your people," I reminded her and she took a deep breath.

"Talk to me about Delilah," she ordered, but Lucifer beat him to it.

"We've been over that one, Detective."

"And why you called the shooter two days before she was murdered."

"Fine. Yeah, I called Eddie cause he hooks me up sometimes. He met Delilah through me," he told him. "Whatever. Don't make me a killer, do it?"

"No, but it does make you a suspect," Chloe told him.

"What, so everyone on Eddie's phone's a suspect?" 2Vile asked. "Are you joking? You gonna drag half of Hollywood downtown. Be like the Oscars or something."

"Wait, aren't you that chick from that film?" one of the guys asked Chloe.

"What's this? What film?" Lucifer asked with a smile on his face.

"You used to be an actress or something, right?"

"Yeah," she confirmed.

"That teen movie - I forget what it's called."

"Of course. Hot Tub High School," Lucifer said. "That's where I know you from."

"Let's just stick to my questions, shall we? So..."

"The one with the famous nude scene, coming out of the hot tub. It was, like, a complete Fast Times rip-off. She was, like, the new Phoebe Cates!"

"Thanks, I appreciate that," Chloe said sarcastically.

"That was quite a nude scene," Lucifer said.

"I have far too many bullets in this things for you to still be talking," Chloe warned him. "You, we need to have a conversation right now."

"That's a waste of time, Detective. I've just threatened his life - he's not our guy. He would've said, trust me," Lucifer told her and I winced at his words.

"You did what?" Chloe asked him.

"Yeah, isn't that illegal?" 2Vile asked.

"Uh, little bit, yeah," Chloe said. "You stay put. You, you're coming with me." Chloe pulled out her handcuffs and cuffed Lucifer.

"What? Ooh." Lucifer laughed. "With pleasure."

"You do realize these are the go-to-jail cuffs, not the sex cuffs, right?" I asked him as I followed the pair.

"At least, perhaps now, you'll listen to me. Although, I'm not quite sure why I'm being arrested," Lucifer said.

"Because you're interfering with a police investigation," Chloe told him. "You've broken I can't even count how many laws. And you piss me off."

"There's the real reason," I said with a smile and Chloe just gave me a look.

"Right, I can get out of these, you know?" Lucifer asked her.

"Funny," Chloe said. Next thing we knew, Lucifer was handing her back her cuffs one hand still behind his back.

"How'd you do that?" Chloe asked him, snatching her cuffs from him.

"How many times have you been in cuffs to be able to do that?" I asked.

"Come on, we're wasting time," Lucifer sighed. "We should be out there solving a homicide and punishing those responsible."

"We? You're insane," Chloe told him. "And you're not helping by letting him do this."

"I'm not letting anyone do anything," I told her. "My client wants Delilah's murderer in prison and Lucifer is helping me. Besides we met up on the way, it's not like I called the man."

"I'm taking you both in. Get in the car," Chloe ordered.

"No, that's boring." Lucifer backed away from her hand as she tried to force him into the car. "Not to mention pointless. Come on, we'll help you. It'll be fun."

"That's a matter of opinion," I corrected.

"How could you possibly help me?" Chloe asked leaning on the car door.

"I have a certain skill set," Lucifer told us. "I can be very persuasive with people and tend to see things that others cannot."

"So, you're psychic or something?"

"No, I can't read people's minds. I'm not a Jedi. People just like to tell me things," Lucifer told her and I thought back to the wedding.

* * *

 _"I really don't want to have sex with him tonight," the bride suddenly told us._

* * *

"Hmm, just-just tell you things?" Chloe asked not believing him. "Just confess their sins, just like that?"

"No, not their sins," Lucifer told us annoyed. "I have no power over people's sins. I actually get a bad rap for that. I have the ability to draw out people's forbidden desires. The more simple the human, the easier it is. The more complex, the more challenging and exciting, really. But no, the actual sins, the sins are on you people."

"You people?" Chloe asked confused.

"Didn't you get it from the name, sis?" I asked moving to her side while staring at Lucifer. "Lucifer, the Devil himself come to LA."

"And desire's, like what, your superpower?" she asked him.

"Mn, it's more like a gift from God really," he told us. "Okay, look. Tell me, Detective, what do you desire more than anything else in this life?" he asked her with a small smirk.

"This is it? This is your big trick?" she asked him.

"It worked on the last person I saw him use it on," I told her. She sighed as they stared at each other.

"I guess, when I was a little girl, I... always wanted to be a cop like my daddy, so that... that one day I could help people and... and be taken seriously... when I say to shut up and get in the damn car." Lucifer's smiled fell as he stared at her.

"You're not like a Jedi or something, are you?" he asked her.

"Get in the car." Chloe grabbed his arm and he quickly backed away from her and held up a finger.

"No, no, no, no, no. Look. I know something you don't know."

"Really? What's that?" Chloe asked him, obviously not believing him by her tone.

"Won't say unless you take us with you on this," Lucifer told her. She looked at me and I shrugged.

"I won't tell you at all. I'll solve your little case and just move on, you know me," I told her, my hands on my hips.

"Please, come on. We got to 2Vile, didn't we?"

"Why do you care about this so much?" Chloe finally asked him. "About Delilah?" She looked between both of us on that one.

"Delilah was my friend, Chloe. I gotta see this through. Please," I almost begged. She sighed before looking at Lucifer.

"Look, I just... I just do," Lucifer said. "Look, if I hadn't meddled with her career, maybe she wouldn't have died."

"She'd still be miserable though," I pointed out. "She loved her career."

"Okay. Okay, fine - but if this little clue thing of your doesn't pan out, these are going back on, and they're gonna stay on," Chloe ordered.

"Is that a promise?" Lucifer asked her.

"Not in the fun way, Lucifer," I told him as Chloe maneuvered him into her car. I moved to the front seat and sat down before we drove off.

* * *

"Yeah, therapist in Beverly Hills with the first name Linda," Chloe told someone over her phone. "See if Delilah was a client."

"Ah-ah, actually, she had a pseudonym, which I also happen to know. I'm quite good at this, aren't I?" Lucifer asked with a smile.

"Penny Lane," I filled in the missing name.

"Okay. Delilah may have gone by Penny Lane. Thanks." She hung up the phone and looked back at Lucifer. "Don't look so smug. Nothing's panned out yet."

"No, no, no, it's not that. It's just that I knew that I recognized you," Lucifer said proudly.

"Right. Right, you've seen my boobies. It's exciting. What, are you 12?" Chloe asked him.

"So is the, uh... is the movie why you've got such a chip on your shoulder?" Lucifer asked curiously.

"Nope, believe me, that's got nothing to do with it," I told him and Chloe gave me a look.

"Right. Attractive female cop struggling to be taken seriously in a man's man's world... that it?" Lucifer asked.

"Yeah, something like that," Chloe laughed.

"Well, they're threatened. You're clearly smart and have notable instincts. Ignore them. Trust yourself," Lucifer told her before her cell started ringing.

"Detective Decker. All right, text it to me. Thanks," Chloe hung up her phone and I stared at her.

"Well?" I asked her.

"What's that?" Lucifer asked and glancing back I could see his smug grin as he watched her.

"What you were saying stands up," she sighed. "There's a Penny Lane who sees a Dr. Linda Martin in Beverly Hills."

"Told you he was good," I sighed getting comfortable in my seat.

"I'll clear my schedule," Lucifer said before Chloe's phone rang again. "Ooh, someone's popular."

"Please stop talking. Hello. What? You're kidding me. Is she okay?" The question drew my attention. "Oh, of course, he's not there. Thanks." she hung up her phone.

"What's going on?" I asked her.

"We got to make a pit stop."

"What? No, absolutely not," Lucifer denied.

"My kid got into a fight. I got to pick her up," Chloe explained.

"She okay?" I asked her and she nodded.

"What, can't she get herself home?" Lucifer asked.

"She's seven," Chloe and I told him at the same time.

"Look, I'm not here to help you run errands. I'm here to help you solve a homicide," Lucifer said and Chloe got this look on her face.

"Really?" she quickly spun the car around before driving to the school.

* * *

"All right. Wait here," Chloe ordered taking off her seatbelt.

"With pleasure. Despise children," Lucifer said before Chloe and I got out of the car.

"Stay with him," Chloe said and I laughed at her.

"Not on your life." We walked into the school building and I sat next to my niece.

"Hey, monkey. What did you do?" I asked her. She was about to tell me when she looked next to me confused. I turned and shook my head at Lucifer who seemed to be looking for someone. He sighed and sat next to Trixie. He pulled out a cigarette and lighter and was about to light up.

"I don't think you're allowed to smoke in here," Trixie told him.

"Oh, dear, what will become of me?" Lucifer asked sarcastically.

"My mother is a police officer. She could arrest you. And if you try to run, my aunt will find you," Trixie told him. He snapped the lighter shut and looked at me before looking back at Trixie.

"Oh, I think I might know your mother and aunt," Lucifer said.

"What's your name?" Trixie asked him.

"Lucifer," he and I said together and her eyes widened.

"Like the Devil?" Trixie whispered and I smiled.

"Exactly."

"My name's Beatrice, but everybody calls me Trixie," she introduced.

"That's a hooker's name." I smacked Lucifer's arm and gave him a look.

"What's a hooker?" Trixie asked looking at me.

"Ask your mother," I told her. "Why did your mom get a phone call, Trix."

"See that girl over there?" Trixie asked pointing to an older girl. "She was bullying me. She created a fake Snapchat account and used it to make fun of me. So... I kicked her in the no-no-touch-touch square." I looked down to hide my laughter at her words and Lucifer's confused face.

"Oh. Oh, I see. Well played. Well played, indeed," Lucifer complimented before standing up and going to the young child.

"Good job, Trix," I smiled at her and she grinned at me before we heard a scream. I quickly jumped up and turned to see Chloe storm out of the principal's office.

"What did you do?" she asked him.

"Oh... I just think someone's feeling a little guilty," Lucifer told her looking down at the girl.

"That sounded more like scared."

* * *

As we left the school building, the bell ran releasing all the kids from their classes. That was when Dan finally decided to make an appearance.

"Hi, Daddy," Trixie greeted happily.

"Hi, munchkin," he smiled down at her.

"Wow, shocker, you're late," Chloe said playing with Trixie's hair. This, of course, caused Trixie to plug her ears so she didn't hear them fighting again.

"Come on, give me a break. I'm putting a case to bed," Dan reminded her.

"Right, like I'm not working a case, too. Oh, yeah, the one you tried to steal from me," Chloe reminded him.

"You mean the open and shut one. You did open and shut it, right?" Dan asked her.

"I'm being diligent, Dan. It's a high-profile case," she said.

"Exactly, which is why you need to be smart about it," Dan warned.

"She is smart. You're the dimwit," Lucifer told him. "Perhaps you should refrain from arguing in front of the child. It's unbecoming." Chloe and Dan looked to Trixie, still plugging her ears before Dan laughed.

"I don't know whether to laugh or to shoot you."

"Surprise me," Lucifer told him.

"Isn't he funny, Daddy?" Trixie asked him.

"Getting better every minute," I added and Dan gave me a look. I just smiled at him.

"Hey, can you, uh, drop Trix at my mom's? We got to go," Chloe asked Dan and he nodded. "Thank you." Chloe bent to Trixie's level. "Trixella, give Mommy a kiss. I love you so much. Good job standing up to the mean girl."

"Thanks, Mommy. What's a hooker?" Trixie asked. Chloe and Dan looked at me and Lucifer. I pointed to the man in question who looked away from the girls' parents.

"Daddy will tell you," Chloe told her looking up to Dan. Dan looked away from her as Trixie grabbed his hand.

"Bye, Lucifer. It was nice meeting you," Trixie called back

"Hmm. Think she likes you.," Chloe told him.

"Of course she does... what's not to like?" Lucifer asked her as we watched the young girl be taken home.

* * *

"Was your offspring planned or a mistake?" Lucifer asked Chloe suddenly while we were waiting for Dr. Linda.

"Planned, sort of," Chloe told him while I read my trashy magazine.

"Really? 'Cause I've never understood the human desire to procreate," Lucifer told us.

"Probably a reason for that," I commented.

"I mean, children are hideous little creatures, terrible, taxing burdens," Lucifer said and I gave him a look.

"Might want to be aware of your audience," I warned.

"Oh, um, yours is fine. I mean, you know, nothing to crow about, but nothing to be too embarrassed about, either, so that's quite good, isn't it?" Lucifer asked smiling at her.

"Are you at all aware of how dickish you sound?" Chloe asked him.

"No. Speaking of dicks... why was that ex-husband of yours pressuring you to close the case?" Lucifer asked her.

"Wow you really know how to push a person's buttons, don't you?" I asked him.

"What do you mean?" he asked me.

"You are so strange," I laughed.

"Did my father send you?" I gave him a confused look as the door opened.

"Okay, Detectives, I'll see you now," Dr. Linda told us.

"Thank you," Chloe said as we all rose from our seats.

"Oh. "Detectives"," Lucifer grinned at the words and I shook my head at him.

* * *

"Dr. Martin, I'd like to ask you a few questions about Delilah," Chloe told her once we'd all sat down on the couch. The woman couldn't seem to keep her eyes off Lucifer and, to be honest, it was kind of disturbing.

"You're thinking about it, aren't you?" he asked her.

"What?" Dr. Martin asked him seeming confused.

"Yes, I wouldn't recommend it. I'm like walking heroin. Very habit-forming. It never ends well," Lucifer told her and I shared a confused look with Chloe. Dr. Martin just sighed.

"I'm sorry, do... do you two know each other?" Chloe asked them.

"No, no, but I know that look," Lucifer told us.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Dr. Martin insisted.

"That is interesting 'cause... you don't look at me that way," Lucifer said looking right at me.

"What way?" I asked.

"With carnal fascination."

"There'd have to be a reason for me to look at you that way and there's not," I told him.

"No, you see, that's just it... with most women, it does. I tend to appeal to the dark, mischievous hearts in all of you, but you, Carla, you seem oddly immune to my charms," Lucifer

"Referring to them as "charms," I think, is a bit of a stretch," Chloe told him.

"I'd have to find something about you I like to even begin to find your "charms" alluring, and I don't," I told him.

"That's fascinating," Lucifer said, still staring at me before turning to Dr. Martin. "Now, tell me, Linda..."

"You say it's fascinating, and yet I can see that it disturbs you, doesn't it?" she asked him. "Deeply."

"Dr. Martin, we know that, um, Delilah was having a clandestine affair with a wealthy married man, so if you just tell us his name, we will be on our way," Chloe tried getting out of her.

"I'm sorry, I can't do that," Dr. Martin told us.

"Oh, she's one of the complex ones," Lucifer told us. "Linda, darling, why don't you tell me? Hmm?"

"Well, I can't." Lucifer chuckled at her as she fought whatever he was doing to her. "I want to, but I can't. Oh, you're the devil." she laughed.

"Correct. Now, come on, Dr. Martin. I know you want to," Lucifer coaxed her.

"Oh, man, and it's really, really juicy, too," she told us.

"Ok, now I just want to know just to know," I whispered to Chloe.

"Ooh, I bet it is."

"No, I can't," the doctor denied.

"What did you do to her? Did you roofie her?" Chloe asked him.

"Oh, no, it's not her fault. She's just reacting to me. Just watch and learn, okay?" Lucifer asked us before turning back to Dr. Linda. "Right, the answer is yes, we can take a trip to pound town if we must, but first, you're gonna have to tell us, Linda, okay?"

"Um..." she moaned before chuckling. "Okay... it's Grey Cooper."

"Grey Cooper? Seriously? That is juicy," Chloe commented.

"Grey Cooper, the actor?" I asked giving them a look. Dr. Linda just nodded with a grin on her face.

"The one who's married to Amanda what's-her-chops?" Lucifer asked and both women acknowledged it. "Oh, no, he's horrible. So square-jawed, so handsome, so vanilla. Oh, I'm really quite disappointed in Delilah. That's truly terrible taste in the opposite sex."

"Thank you very much, Dr. Martin. We'll be in touch," Chloe said before standing up. "All right, we got to go." I rose from my seat while Lucifer turned to us.

"Yes, of course, but I... I made a deal, so I'm gonna have to hold up my end of the bargain. You wouldn't mind waiting outside?" he asked us and we both gave him a look.

"Are you seriously talking about having sex with her right now?" Chloe asked him through clenched teeth.

"Well, it won't take long," Lucifer assured us.

"Please tell me your joking," I muttered shaking my head at him.

"I do yoga," Dr. Linda told him and we all turned to her. "Hot... yoga. I'm freakishly flexible. Want to see? Wow!" She moved one leg from over her other to the other side of her while spinning in her chair. "I really tried to keep that one in," she chuckled.

"Well, you tried... that's what matters," Lucifer told her before standing up. "Uh, look, I'm really sorry, but I'm gonna have to take a rain check. I will be back, okay?"

"I certainly hope so," Dr. Linda told him.

"My word is my bond."

* * *

Chloe called and found out where Grey Cooper was filming his newest movie, but instead of waiting on the sidelines and waiting for the director to call cut, Lucifer decided to be part of the action.

"Excuse me! Excuse me. Ah, excuse me. Thank you," Lucifer moved through the crowd easily enough, but following him wasn't easy.

"Hey, hey, sir." I heard tires squealing and gunfire and saw Lucifer standing in the way of a car being shot at. I knew it wasn't real gunfire but the car was real enough to do some damage to the club owner standing in its way.

"Lucifer! Get out of the way!" I shouted at him. The car managed to come to a screeching halt right in front of his way.

"Who the hell is this guy? What the hell are you doing?" one of the set men yelled at him.

"Excuse me. Excuse me. Sorry. Excuse me. Sorry, he's with me." Chloe said showing her badge as I walked to him. I hit his arm lightly.

"Are you an idiot?" I asked him as the stuntman got out of the car.

"That's not Grey Cooper," Lucifer said in confusion.

"No, of course not. What the hell is this?" the director asked us.

"Almost no actor do their own stunts. And a car chase like this was supposed to be could go wrong and harm the actor," I told Lucifer quietly as Chloe talked to the director into letting us talk with Grey.

* * *

"God, Delilah, yeah, heard about that this morning. I can't believe it. We did a movie together last year. Got pretty close," Grey told us as Chloe wrote it down on her little notepad.

"Lovers?" Lucifer asked with a smile.

"Friends," Grey corrected.

"Friends who were lovers?" Lucifer supplied and Chloe turned to him.

"Settle down. I'll handle the questions." She turned back to Grey. "Mr. Cooper, when did you last have contact with Delilah?"

"Well, actually, I just have one more question before you proceed with the boring ones," Lucifer told her and she rolled her eyes at him. "Tell me, Mr. Cooper, what do you want more than anything in this world? What's your deepest, darkest desire? You close your eyes, what do you see?"

"I'm the president of the United States of America." I had to hold my laughter back at that one. Of all the things someone would want, why that?

"Ha! Well, who's the Devil now, eh? Those are some pretty big aspirations there, Mr. Cooper," Lucifer chuckled.

"Well, after the acting and stuff," Grey corrected, embarrassed at admitting his desire.

"No need to be embarrassed. Hell, if Arnold can do it, right?" Lucifer chuckled. "Now, you wouldn't want any nasty secrets screwing that up for you, though, would you?"

"Is there a point to this?" Grey asked.

"Were you having an affair with Delilah?" I asked him. He was a bit shocked at my bluntness and gaped his mouth like a fish before someone called to him.

"Honey!" Amanda called out. "Have you been getting my texts? I thought they were breaking you for lunch like a half hour ago. What's going on?"

"These people are detectives," Grey told her.

"Real ones?" she asked giving us all a look.

"We have some questions about Delilah," Chloe told her.

"Oh. Oh. Yes, it's so sad,"

"Yeah. Very sad." Grey agreed with his wife.

"Your watch, where'd you get that?" Chloe asked. I looked at his watch and I recognized it from the shooter.

"Oh, it's a prop," Grey told her.

"No, that's the one Delilah gave you, isn't it? For _Time Will Tell_?" Amanda asked.

"Right," Grey suddenly remembered and I raised my eyebrow at him. "That's the movie that we did. It was a wrap gift," he chuckled nervously.

"Yeah. She buy a $10,000 watch for the whole crew?" Chloe asked him.

"Uh, no. Just me, as far as I know. 'Cause we were, you know, costars and everything," Grey told him.

"You know, you're gonna have to get much better at lying if you want to be president," Lucifer told him.

"I know, right?" Grey asked staring at him.

"So you were sleeping with her," I stated.

"Oh, yeah," he laughed before realizing what he just said. "Crap. I just said that in front of people."

"Whatever. It's not like I didn't know," Amanda told her husband. "God, you are a terrible liar. And actor, by the way."

"You knew?" he asked her confused.

"Of course. Why else do you think I've been sleeping with Bobby?" she asked him. I glanced at the man as he stared wide-eyed at the couple.

"Are you serious?" Grey asked her.

"Oh, yeah. And it is good. Mmm. I climb that man like a tree. Right, Bobby?"

"I wouldn't answer that," I said.

"My bodyguard? What a cliché."

"Oh, I'm a cliché? Well, you're a dick."

"Oh, boy. Hey, guys... Come on! Hey, guys," Chloe tried to get the feuding couple to calm down by drawing their attention back to her.

"Arrest them," Lucifer told her and she gave him a look.

"Seriously?" Chloe asked him.

"One of them's got to be guilty."

* * *

That night, Chloe, Lucifer and I were drinking at the bar talking about the case.

"Thanks," Chloe sighed as another drink was given to her by the bartender. "So, Grey and Amanda have zero connection to the shooter." She sighed again.

"But the shooter had the same watch as Grey. That can't be a coincidence," Lucifer pointed out.

"Maybe Delilah gave him one, too. Her go-to gift for her boyfriends," I suggested.

"Well, that would imply she was actually sleeping with that maggot," Lucifer reminded me and I gave him a look.

"You really think she wasn't? Jimmy, 2Vile, Grey Cooper. That's three other maggots she was sleeping with. I don't think she had a lot of discretion," I told him. "She may have been my friend, but damn. The girl got around.

"Yeah. I suppose you got a point," he said before Chloe chuckled softly.

"God, what are we doing here?" she asked me.

"Wrong deity, but, yes, that is the eternal question," Lucifer chuckled.

"No. She means here, in a bar, with you." I corrected and he stared down at me.

"Well, I don't know. You tell me. I mean, despite your proclaimed revulsions, you can't deny that there's a connection between us," he told me. "Tell me, what do you actually want?"

"You mean what do I desire more than anything else in this life?" I asked with a false British accent which made Chloe and I laugh lightly.

"Yes," he said.

"No tricks?" I asked him.

"No tricks. Not that they work on you, you freak," we both chuckled. "Seriously. I'm curious."

"Honestly, I don't know. I thought I knew a long time ago. My dad was a great cop. My mom's an actress, albeit a cheesy one, but still," I chuckled. "I tried the acting thing once. Took my clothes off, pretended to have sex with someone, the whole nine yards."

"What movie was this and why haven't I seen it yet?" Lucifer asked and I nudged him while laughing.

"So I quit. I knew the cop things wasn't my style so I became a Bounty Hunter. Things were going great until..."

"Until?" Lucifer prompted.

"Chloe called me in for a case that didn't go to plan,"

"Ah, the... reason your ex-maggot was pressuring you to close this?" Lucifer asked Chloe.

"Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. There was a case, a shooting on Palmetto Street where a cop was shot, and I saw it differently than pretty much everyone in my department, including my ex. Carla was the only one who had my back. We stuck our necks out, and it backfired. And, uh, now... no one wants to work with me," Chloe chuckled. "Not even my own twin."

"Well, I'm available," Lucifer told her.

"And I wouldn't say I wouldn't work with you again," I told her and she turned to me with a surprised look on her face. "I had fun today, spending time with my sister. We should do it again when you need my help on a case."

"I'll remember that," she told me smiling. We looked up at the TV as they showed how Delilah's death was affecting everything she worked on.

"Too bad your little protégé isn't around to collect the check," Chloe told Lucifer taking a drink of her beer.

"The soundtrack album for the movie _Time Will Tell_ has reached number 15 on the Billboard charts and is still climbing. Song and record sales..."

"Oh, wow," Chloe said.

"I see it too," I told her.

"What?" Lucifer asked confused.

"Delilah didn't give that watch to the drug dealer."

* * *

We stormed into the recording studio and went straight for Jimmy.

"Hello, Jimmy," Lucifer greeted with venom on his voice.

"Really?" Jimmy sighed.

"How's the album sales doing?" Lucifer asked him.

"What album?" he asked feigning confusion.

"The soundtrack to _Time Will Tell._ Delilah told me you produced it," I told him and I started to see the sweat forming.

"Whitney Houston hit the top ten for album sales after her death. Michael Jackson hit the stratosphere. Not sure you'll achieve such heights having Delilah killed, but that sure is a boatload of royalty checks headed your way. Guess you really needed the cash, huh? Which is why you had to pay the shooter with your watch," Chloe said piecing everything together

"The watch Delilah gave you," I added.

"Now, that's just sick. But then you are, so..." Jimmy just nodded before pulling out a gun and holding it to the singer's head loading it in the process.

"Hey, Jimmy?" Chloe called while pulling out her own weapon and the rest of the band ran in fear.

"I made her, and she ruined me. She humiliated me. She owes me," Jimmy told us.

"You're not God, Jimmy. You didn't make her. But you did destroy her. So I'm gonna punish you," Lucifer told him walking closer to him.

"You back off, you freak. I mean it. I am not going to jail for that bitch. No chance," Jimmy told us.

"Listen to him, Lucifer. Back off," Chloe told him.

"I told you, it's fine. I'm immortal," Lucifer told her when Jimmy turned his gun on Lucifer. Chloe shot Jimmy twice and he fell into the drum set.

"Get out of here kid," I ordered the and kid ran like everyone else in the recording studio had.

"Why did you do that?" Lucifer asked Chloe.

"He was gonna kill you," Chloe reminded him.

"No, no, no, no, no, no. You just... you just let him off too easy. He needs to pay! He needs to suffer! He needs to feel the pain, not escape it!" Lucifer told her angrily. Chloe and I shared a confused look.

"Don't worry. I'm sure where he's going, he's going to feel the pain," I said.

"No. No, it's not, actually. And you know why? Because I'm here and he's..." Three shots rang out. Chloe fell back, glass shattered, and I dropped to my knees next to Chloe.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no," I cried leaning close to her head. "Chloe, stay awake. This can't be happening."

"I don't want to die," she gasped weakly. Lucifer knelt over her before looking at me. Blood was blossoming along my arm where glass had pierced my skin and on the side of my abdomen.

"Carla," he said and I shook my head.

"I'll be fine. It was just a graze." But even I could hear the near lie in it. Yes, the bullet had only grazed my side, but my vision was getting blurry. I was going to pass out soon.

"Chloe, stay with us. Dad's gonna have to wait a few more years to see you because I'm not losing you. Focus on us. You can't leave Trixie alone with Dan," I said everything I could think of to get her to stay awake. More gunshots went off and I dropped over my sister's body and waited for the pain. When I felt none I looked to see Lucifer blocking the shots from hitting us as he groaned in pain.

"Just... give me one second." I watched him go to Jimmy while being shot before taking the gun from him. He picked up Jimmy and slammed him into the reflective glass.

"No, please! No, no, please! Please. Please don't kill me," Jimmy begged Lucifer. My vision was too blurry to see anymore, but I still heard Lucifer's final words.

"Oh, Jimmy. You're gonna wish that's all I did to you." I passed out with Jimmy's screams in my ears.

* * *

"Well, look who's back," I looked up from my magazine and smiled at Chloe as she groaned.

"How long have I been out?" she asked.

"Three years," Lucifer told her seriously and she looked between the two of us.

"What?" she asked worriedly. Lucifer and I started laughing and she quickly joined in. "You're such an ass."

"Thank you."

"Oh, God. He was firing at you. Why aren't you... more dead?" Chloe asked him.

"Don't bother asking," I told her sitting on her bed. "He just goes on about being immortal. If you ask me just just a lucky bastard."

"You're having a very hard time with the immortal thing, aren't you?" Lucifer asked giving me a once over.

"What happened with Jimmy?" Chloe sighed.

"Jimmy? Jimmy got what he deserved," Lucifer told her.

"Hmm?" I nodded. Jimmy'd been taken away and put into a mental institution. For helping Chloe I got paid pretty well (the case was high profile after all) and I'd gotten to go home pretty soon after waking up. "Well, I'm pretty sure I'd be dead if you hadn't helped me, so... thank you."

"Sorry, what was that? That last bit. I didn't quite get that," Lucifer teased her and I laughed.

"Thank you," she said again.

"You're welcome. And, besides, you know, you're both far too interesting to let die," Lucifer said looking us both over while leaning back in his chair.

"You saved my life because we're interesting?" Chloe asked him.

"Wildly irritating as well, but yes," he answered.

"So what now?" Chloe chuckled.

"Well, I mean, Carla and I've obviously proven ourselves to be invaluable crime-fighting tools. You're a pariah in the department. I think this could be the start of a beautiful friendship. Don't you?" Lucifer asked her standing up.

"Who the hell are you?" Chloe asked again.

"I told you, I'm..."

"Lucifer!" Trixie latched herself onto Lucifer's midsection as he tried getting away from her.

"Uh, yes. Hello, child. Um, just... Why don't you save some of this unpleasantness for your mother, yeah?" He picked her up and placed her on Chloe who groaned in pain.

"Sorry. Are you hurt?" he asked her.

"I'm okay," she assured him.

"Right. Well, I'd stay for the family reunion, but it's giving me terrible IBS. So, look forward to seeing you soon, Chloe. Carla," Lucifer told us.

"I don't," Chloe told him while waving.

"Bye, now. Glad you're not dead," Lucifer said leaning to watch from the doorway. I watched him go before smiling and listening to Trixie tell her mother about what she'd been doing in school.


	2. Lucifer, Stay, Good Devil Part 1

**OMG! I didn't expect so many people to enjoy that (extremely long) first chapter! I was so worried about it when I posted it. I just wanted to send a shout out to all the people who follow and favorited it!**

 **Ghostbuster30: Thanks!**

 **LAIsobel: Thanks for the advice and I'll definitely be separating future longer chapters in the future.**

 **AwesomeFangirlOtaku01: I hadn't even thought of a ship name! I love it!**

* * *

They say that in the beginning, the angel Lucifer was wast out of Heaven and condemned to rule Hell for all eternity. If that's the truth, then why the hell would he be in LA running a club? I watched my sister watch Lucifer.

"Why are we doing this again?" I groaned as she took a picture of him.

"We watched him get shot," she reminded me. "How could he survive that?" Before I could say anything, a woman put two drinks down in front of us. One of them was a shot glass filled with my drink from the last time I was here. I looked up to see the bartender from before.

"We didn't order those," Chloe told her.

"Courtesy of the owner," the bartender told us.

"These are from Lucifer?" Chloe asked her.

"We're busted..." I mumbled.

"Totally busted," she smirked at me. "He asked me to make you something you'd like. Did I get it wrong?"

"You and Lucifer seem really close," Chloe commented.

"I followed him through the gates of Hell," she told us.

"I'll take that as "yes"." The bartender laughed grabbing the umbrella from Chloe's drink and putting the end of it in her mouth before pulling it out again. She walked away from us and I shook my head.

"That was hot," Chloe gave me a look and I just shrugged.

"What?" I asked. I turned and watched Lucifer play on the piano before getting up and moving to him with Chloe behind me.

"Hello, Carla, Detective," he greeted. "How has your undercover surveillance of my activities gone so far?"

"I've looked into you," Chloe told him. "Your name really is Lucifer Morningstar. And as far as I can tell, you didn't exist five years ago."

"On the earthly plane, no," he told us.

"Right, you were in Hell," I sighed.

"Exactly."

"People don't appear out of thin air," Chloe said. "Who were you? How did you survive getting shot six times by Jimmy Barnes?"

"Is that your normal reaction to someone saving your life?" he asked her. "Investigating them?"

"When I see something I can't explain, yeah, I look for answers," Chloe told him.

"Well, I've given you the answer, Detective. It's not my fault you won't accept it," he told us. "Do you know what I think?"

"That sounds like a dangerous question," I commented.

"I think _you,"_ he pointed to me. "Like me, and _you_ ," he pointed at Chloe. "Want to protect your sister from someone you don't trust."

"What part of any look I've given you since we've met give you the impression that I like you?" I asked him with a look.

"No, no, no, it's not about the face," he told me. "It's about the eyes, what's behind them. I think you see something you truly desire, and you..." he nodded with a smirk on his face. "You don't know what to do with yourself, do you?" I shared a look with Chloe before sighing.

"Really?" I asked him.

"Uh-huh," he confirmed. I laughed and he chuckled as I sat next to him. "That's more like it." I moved closer to him and smiled. "Carla, I never knew you cared." he chuckled. I felt his chest as he pulled me closer. I sighed smiling up at him.

"You were wrong, Chloe." I turned to her. "No bulletproof vest."

"What?" Lucifer asked and I turned to him.

"Not like I can see how you'd get it under that suit," I commented.

"But we had to check," Chloe said. "You can get up now."

"Nah, I'm quite comfy here," I said and she grabbed my arm and pulled me up. "Easy! I still have a few days until I get my stitches removed."

"What is it?" Chloe mumbled tapping her finger against her lips. "What is it? What is it? I'm gonna figure out your secret, Lucifer."

"Not a secret if I'm telling you the answer!" he nearly shouted at her. "It's..." he paused and looked at us. "Why don't I affect the two of you? What makes you different?"

"I all have our mysteries," I said.

"Ah," he said before smirking up at me. "Well, I'll show you mine if you show me yours." Chloe's phone started ringing and she answered it. "Oh, God, not that again."

"Decker." I watched her face drop. "Are you sure?" she asked and I looked at her confused. "Yes. Yes, um, please send me the address. I... I owe you one." She sighed as she hung up the phone. "Oh, finally."

"Chloe?"

"Now that affect you. What was it?" Lucifer asked her. She grabbed my arm and we made a beeline for the door. "Detective? Carla? Deckers?!"

* * *

Chloe drove us to an active crime scene and I shook my head. I followed her to Dan who was looking at his notes.

"The victim was being followed by a paparazzo," Dan told us. "Tried to lose his tail. Instead, lost control of his car. Died on impact."

"The paparazzo following him was...?" Chloe asked.

"Was Nick Hofmeister, yeah." I sighed and shook my head.

"Who's the body?" I asked him. He gave me a look, but I just stared at the dead guy in front of me.

"Robbie Russell Jr."

"The son of the movie star?" Chloe asked as we moved around the banged-up car to see his mangled corpse. "He wasn't in the business, was he?"

"No, but he's the son of a movie star," I reminded her with a look.

"Didn't stop everyone from wanting pictures of him." I followed Dan's gaze to see him watching an officer pushing a paparazzo away from the body. "They're vultures."

"Don't we know it."

"You get a statement from Nick?" Chloe asked him.

"You can't be involved in an active case until you're off medical leave," Dan reminded her.

"But I can," I pointed out.

"Yeah, but he confessed."

"He did what?" I asked confused.

"Listen, I get why the two of you wanted to be here, I do," Dan told us. "But you have to bring him?" He motioned behind us and we turned and my jaw dropped as Lucifer was let into the crime scene with a smile on his face.

"Seriously?" I asked confused.

"You've got to be kidding me." Chloe and I made our way to him. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh! How's your ex?" Lucifer asked wiggling his fingers at Dan. "He's not the reason you rushed over here, is he?"

"We asked first," I told him with a look.

"I'm trying to solve my mystery, Carla," he told me. "If I don't affect you, I'm curious to what does."

"Not much," I said before I saw Nick being led away by a cop.

"I think I found what affects you both," Lucifer said moving to stand next to me. "I've just found my answer. Who's that?"

"He's a paparazzo," Chloe told him.

"Oh," Lucifer said turning to us with a grin on his face. "Had a little run-in with him during your movie days, did you? Huh? Is that it?"

"Yeah, you could say that," Chloe said wrapping her good arm around my shoulders.

"He's a cockroach who won't stay down," I said. "He'll figure a way out of this. He always does." Nick looked at us as they placed him in the car.

"You want to talk to him, don't you?" Lucifer asked Chloe. "Well, go on, then. What's stopping you? The rules? Huh? Detective Douche? If you desire something, just take it." Lucifer started towards the car Nick was in.

"Lucifer what do you think you're doing?" I asked him as we followed. Lucifer didn't answer before opening the door and sticking his head in.

"Hello." Lucifer grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the car, slamming it against it.

"You finally did it, Nick," Chloe said, standing protectively in front of me. "You finally wanted a photo so bad that you killed someone. You're not gonna get away with this. I'm gonna make sure of it."

"You're right," he said and I looked at him confused.

"I'm sorry, say that again?" I asked him.

"You're right. I went too far. I'll confess." I shared a look with Chloe.

"Okay. Maybe he's less cockroach, more dung beetle?" Lucifer suggested. "Police work always this easy?"

"No. That's the problem," Chloe told him.

"Right. Well, do you mind if I give it a whirl?" Lucifer asked her. She nodded and he turned to Nick. "Tell me, dung beetle, what is it you desire?" Nick looked into his eyes and I watched closely to see what he was going to say.

"I... would like to confess," Nik told him.

"Yes, yes, yes, but why?" Lucifer asked.

"Because I deserve it." Nick shrugged. "I've just done..." Nick laughed. "...so many terrible things, you know? I see it as my change to-to..."

"Chance to what?" Chloe asked confused.

"No. I..." We watched him struggle to answer. "I... If I tell you, he's just gonna... No. Just..."

"He?" Chloe asked. "Who?"

"Would you please make him stop?" Nick asked us.

"Not on your life," I told him.

"Who?" Chloe asked, still trying to get answers from him. "He who?"

"Him." Nick nodded his head at Lucifer. "Tell him."

"What are you hiding?" Chloe asked him.

"What are you doing?" Dan asked Lucifer, breaking his hold on Nik. "Hey."

"You said, "he". Who?" Chloe asked him again.

"None one of you are supposed to be here," Dan reminded us. "Especially you," Dan told Lucifer who laughed.

"Come on," Lucifer laughed. "All right. Temper, temper." Dan locked Nick back in the police car and got in it to leave. "Right," Lucifer said turning to us. "Well, that's done."

"No," Chloe sighed. "If Nick's covering for someone, that means the real murderer is still out there."

"Yes, plenty of murderers are out there, Detective," Lucifer said. "You heard the man. He deserves the punishment. At least he's getting it." Chloe shook her head. "But that's not enough for you, is it? You two hate that dung beetle. Are you really gonna try and prove his innocence?"

"It's kinda what we do," I said.

"I'm gonna find out who really killed this kid," Chloe said.

"So that's a yes," Lucifer gasped. "Wow, aren't you two full of surprises."

"Shouldn't really be that much of a surprise," I said as I followed Chloe back to her car.

"Well, where do we begin?" Lucifer called after us.

* * *

I watched them zip up the kid and roll him away with Dan standing in front of us.

"You two think Nick Hofmeister is innocent?" he asked us. "You two?"

"He confessed, Dan," Chloe told him. "Nick wouldn't confess to a parking ticket, let alone a murder."

"He's protecting someone," I added. "He has to be."

"So wait," Dan stopped us talking. "First he confessed, then he told you he didn't do it?"

"Well, he didn't want to," Chloe told him.

"Lucifer did his... thing..." I said confused on what to call his... skill.

"Do I even want to know what that means?" Dan asked.

"Look, he was about to tell us more before you came and took him away, Dan," Chloe told him.

"You know what, his car is at the scene. He confessed," he reminded us.

"I know."

"Is this the fight that you want to pick?" Dan asked us.

"Just promise me you'll keep me in the loop?" I asked him.

"I'll do my job," he told me. "Go home."

"Okay," Chloe sighed.

"And take your weird club-owner sidekick with you before I arrest him," Dan told us.

"What for?" I asked crossing my arms at him.

"Let's start with smoking pot at a crime scene," Dan said and I followed his and sighed, my head fell back in aggravation. I walked to him and he offered the pot to me.

"Uh, sorry, do you want a hit?" He asked me.

"Yeah, sure." I took it from his hand and threw it on the ground.

"N-No." I squashed it with the toe of my boot. "It's "puff, puff, pass", not "puff, puff, stomp angrily"."

"Did you seriously bring pot to a crime scene with tons of cops around to arrest you?" I asked him.

"I most certainly did not," he told me and I gave him a look. "I found it here."

"You found it at a crime scene?" I asked not really believing him.

"Yes, in the dung beetle's car," Lucifer told me as Chloe joined us.

"You smoked evidence?" Chloe asked getting angry with him.

"Well, it would've gone to waste otherwise." I groaned at his words. "That's really good stuff you just ground under your toe."

"Wow." Chloe looked like she was about to blow up.

"Take a deep breath before you explode, please?" I asked her.

"Any sign he'd recently lit up?" Chloe asked him.

"Well, there was a... a roach from another joint freshly smoked," Lucifer told us.

"Nick's pupils weren't dilated," Chloe noted.

"He wasn't high," I added. "Maybe he wasn't alone."

"Where's the roach?" Chloe asked him.

"Well, I added it to my joint," Lucifer said motioning to the joint under my foot. Chloe sighed and I shook my head at him. "Well, it's the best part."

"So our only evidence is currently in your lungs?" Chloe asked him.

"Uh, you really wanted to say "up in smoke" then, didn't you?" Lucifer jocked.

"No," Chloe told him shaking her head. "No, I most definitely did not."

"Right, so what should we do now?" Lucifer asked us. "I mean, we could head back to Lux. I'm sure there's some stragglers we could get into trouble with, huh?"

"I'm good, thanks." Chloe walked away from us.

"More from us, then," Lucifer smiled at me.

"Yeah, no." I shook my head before joining Chloe so we could go home.

* * *

Chloe was looking through the tabloids on her tablet to try and figure out what she could on her own time. I watched over her shoulder as she played a video. One of the paparazzi was getting in the kids face.

"Hey, Robbie, where you been?" one of them asked.

"If you're going to follow me maybe I can do something good with this," Robbie said. He pulled something out of his inner jacket pocket and held it up for the press to see. "This... is the Website for the Red Cross. Give blood, volunteer. Don't be like the asshat filming this." That was the end of the video.

"Good job, kid," Chloe congratulated. "Better than I did."

"Better than _we_ did," I corrected him.

"Mommy? Aunt Carla?" Trixie asked coming up behind us.

"Yeah, baby?" Chloe asked him.

"Are you looking at a no-no site?" Trixie asked her.

"God, I wish," I mumbled and Chloe hit me.

"Why would you think that?" Chloe asked her.

"Because you put it away so fast, and you look really, really, guilty."

"No, baby, I'm just doing police work," Chloe told her.

"I thought you weren't supposed to be working," Trixie said and I pulled her into my lap.

"Aren't you supposed to be getting ready to hang out with your dad?" I asked putting my head on her shoulder.

"I am ready," she told me.

"Then where's your stuff monkey?" I asked her and she smiled before jumping out of my lap and back into her room as the doorbell rang.

"Dan's early," Chloe said.

"That man has never been early a day in his life," I whispered and she kicked my feet out of her way. She went to the door and opened it to reveal Lucifer. "Ha! Told you!" I called out to her.

"He's your problem," she told me and I got up before going to him as she went to help Trixie.

"Do you two really live here?" he asked before just walking inside.

"Please, come on in," I said sarcastically.

"I thought I must have gotten the wrong address," he said. "How do you afford this place? Do you take bribes?"

"We don't," I told him. "Why are you here?"

"Lucifer!" Trixie latched onto him around his legs and he tried his best to get away from her making me laugh a little.

"Ah, hello again, small human," he chuckled nervously. "Uh, this-this is yours, yes?" He picked up her doll and shook it at her.

"Yeah, that's Molly McDowell," Trixie told him. "She's a ballerina by day, but a ninja chemist by night."

"When a simple yes would've sufficed," he told her. "Right, on you go, then. Go on, fetch away." Lucifer threw the doll at the door and whistled at her. She looked at the doll then back at him. "Well, go on, then." When she didn't move he looked up at me. "Uh, is this too advanced for her?"

"She's not a dog," I sighed.

"You're funny," Trixie told him.

"Trixie, babe, come on," Chloe called for her and Trixie went back to her room. "Get ready."

"You," I pointed at Lucifer. "Leave. Now."

"I had no idea that Hot Tub High School and, whatever movie you refuse to name, paid so well," Lucifer said.

"They didn't," I corrected. "Can you keep it down about the movies? Trixie doesn't know."

"What, that her mom and aunt were giant stars? Why not?" He asked us. "Not 'cause of the old...?" He held his hands up to his chest, simulating breasts while imitating fanfare.

"Yeah, don't do that again," I told him. "Ever."

"Right, sorry," he said. "So how do you afford this place?"

"We don't; it's our mom's place," I told him. "Chloe and Trixie moved in after she and Dan separated and I joined them after I got back in town, okay?" I asked taking back one of my mom's knick-knacks he'd picked up to look at.

"Penelope Decker?" she asked looking at one of the movie posters mom had hanging around. "Hold on a minute. Your mother's Penelope Decker?"

"Not exactly a common last name," I said.

"Queen of '80s cheeseball sci-fi?"

"Yep."

"You have to introduce me," Lucifer gasped.

"What's that saying I really wanna use," I asked sarcastically. "Oh, that's right. Not a chance in Hell."

"So you're part of a family dynasty like me," he commented. "No wonder we get on so well. How did you rebel?"

"Rebel?" I asked confused.

"Well, you're mad at the dung beetle," Lucifer said. "You must have done something salacious in your youth. What was it? Did you kiss a girl and like it?"

"Not talking about it," I told him.

"Oh, so there is something." He grinned down at me. "Two girls?"

"Okay, I'm done talking," I said.

"An Eiffel Tower?" he asked and I turned to him confused.

"What's an Eiffel Tower?"

"It's marvelous," he told me. "It's when two chaps high-five at the top, then the young lady..."

"Okay, there is an eight-year-old in the room who really doesn't need to hear about that," I said grabbing his arm and marching him to the door. "And neither does her aunt."

"What...? What about the case?" he asked me.

"You know, if we were secretly working on a case, having you around drawing attention wouldn't be good, now would it?" I asked him.

"Well, maybe not, but be much more fun, wouldn't it, Carla, if we carried on working together?" he asked and I leaned on the door staring up at him.

"While I agree, it was fun, I nearly lost my sister," I reminded him. "You got shot and could have died yourself. I'm not going to risk that." I closed the door and locked it before going back to Trixie and Chloe.


	3. Lucifer, Stay, Good Devil Part 2

**AN: So I'm going to do my best to answer reviews in the beginnings of my chapters, but since this isn't a habit it might take me some time to get used to doing so. I do want to thank everyone who's followed/favorited this story (and me)! You guys keep me going strong!**

 **Who's excited for Season 4 on Netflix?!**

 **rgold244: Thanks for the review! I hope you enjoy all the future chapters as well!**

 **Arianna Le Fay: I'm so happy you're enjoying it!**

 **AzarielShax: I can't even remember when I got the idea, but it's been swimming around for a while, so I decided to put the plan to paper so to speak. Thank you so much for the tips on how to improve, not only this story but all my stories! I do want to show not only Carla and Lucifer's relationship change through the seasons but also Carla and Chloe's.**

 **BlueBloodsSVUOrder: I will continue this story for as long as I have the inspiration to write it**

 **nicmajebo: Thank you for the tip, and I will add original moments between Lucifer and Carla. I don't know how far from the original storyline I'll go, but I do hope to add a few of my ideas to it.**

 **Guest (Rose): I'm still watching Season 3 of Lucifer, so I don't know everything that happens in the end (Google ruined some moments for me :() I do know how I want them to be.**

* * *

"Come on, Carla!" Chloe called out to me, and I rolled my eyes at her. Trix was with Dan and Chloe wanted to talk to Robbie's dad and wanted to drag me along with her.

"Why can't you just go alone?" I asked her.

"I want a partner for this," she told me. "I need you with me on this."

"Call Lucifer. I'm sure he'd be happy to help you," I said leaving my room and moving to the kitchen to grab jello. What can I say, a girl has her cravings.

"And if I wanted Lucifer to annoy me by following me around I'd call him." I couldn't help but laugh at her.

"You're just annoyed you can't figure the man out."

"And you can?" she asked me.

"Not a bit. Makes him very interesting," I told her with a smile. "Not to mention he's gorgeous." Chloe rolled her eyes at me. "As if you didn't notice it."

"Nope." I gave her a look. "Are you ready to go? You can bring the jello."

"Most people just say please, you know." I removed myself from the island to the door, jello in hand.

"Not to their baby sisters."

"10 minutes. I was born 10 minutes after you."

"Which makes you the baby sister." I groaned following her out the door and to the car.

"I hate you."

"Love you too Carla."

* * *

"I already spoke to the police about my son, Robbie. I don't know what else there is to say," Robbie's dad told us, leading up to his (fantastic) pool outside.

"We're just following up," Chloe lied. As much as we hated Nick for what he did to us, Chloe was right. Something wasn't right about this. One thing dad had always told us was to follow our gut, and we did our best to do that every day. "We want to make sure there aren't any suspects we overlooked."

"But I was told Nick Hofmeister confessed."

"He did," Chloe confirmed while I looked around where we stood. "Mr. Russell, I, um... I don't think Nick killed your son."

"What?" he asked, and I could hear not only confusion but also a bit of panic in his voice. The case, he thought, was over. The bad guy confessed to the police, but this is the reality. Nothing ever gets wrapped up in a nice little bow like that. Why would there be bounty hunters if it did? "Are you... is this a joke?" Chloe shook her head. "I'm sorry. You just don't know what Robbie went through because of my work. Now he's dead because of me."

"Mr. Russell you can't blame yourself, or your work, for Robbie's death," I told him. "The media is part of your life, and they'll do whatever they can to get everything from it. Including interrupt an innocent kids life."

"You know, our mom is Penelope Decker. So we were followed by paparazzi all our lives, just like Robbie," Chloe said. "But, you know, that wasn't our mom's fault. The only person you can blame is whoever ran your son off the road. I want to make sure we get the right guy. And I'm telling you we don't think Nick is him."

"There was one paparazzo," Mr. Russell told us.

"Did you get a name or a description?" Chloe asked him.

"No, I didn't." I sighed quietly. "Because Robbie only noticed him once. That's why I never mentioned him before."

"Thank you." Chloe's phone started ringing. "Excuse me." She walked away to answer it.

"You're probably tired of hearing this, Mr. Russell, but I'm sorry for your loss. No parent should have to bury their child."

"You sound like you speak from experience," he noted looking at me.

"I've never given birth to any children." I smiled at him before Chloe joined us again.

"We have to go."

* * *

"Can't you just leave this alone?" I asked Chloe. Lucifer had found a way to talk to Nick alone at the police station and, the last thing I wanted to do was talk to him after he knew the big secrets we spent years burying.

"He can't do whatever he wants just because he's curious about us." Chloe quickly got out of the car, and I sighed before following her inside the club. Chloe's bit secret with Nick was just a punched out camera. Mine was a little different, and I wanted to avoid the topic and keep it just between Nick and me. Sadly, with Lucifer's "gift", Nick probably spilled his guts to the club owner.

"How did you get into Nick's holding cell?" Chloe asked as we walked down the steps to where Lucifer and his bartender were talking. "Oh, sorry. Am I interrupting some creepy foreplay you two have? How did you get into Nick's holding cell?"

"Why, by asking very nicely, of course," Lucifer said smiling down at my pushy sister. "Something you should try sometime."

"And did you get the answers you wanted?" I asked him, and he just stared at me. That was a yes if I'd ever seen one.

"This case has nothing to do with you," Chloe reminded him. "Why won't you leave it alone?"

"Why won't the pair of you?"

"You never asked Carla's question," Chloe pointed out. "Did you learn something from him?"

"Yes," he answered. "I did, actually. Our dung beetle is protecting someone whose following in his footsteps. Protege, perhaps."

"We found out someone else was following Robbie, and someone's been uploading photos online today from Nick's company," Chloe told us. I hadn't known she was watching the website from Nick's company so this was all news to me. "Last one was posted an hour ago from a party that's still happening. Our killer could be there." Chloe turned and made for the stairs while Lucifer and I stayed at the bar.

"Right." Lucifer grabbed his drink but never got to take the first gulp when Chloe turned to us.

"Are you two coming or what?"

"I'd rather not go into that crowd, thanks," I told her with a sarcastic smile.

"Sorry, I thought this the part where you leave me behind and say something like "Lucifer, stay. Good Devil"."

"I'd rather keep my eye on you," she told him. "Both of you."

"Oh, come one," I groaned nearly hitting my head on the bar.

"Let's go, Carla!" Chloe called back to me as she walked back up the stairs. I sighed before following with Lucifer behind me.

* * *

We had to park blocks away from the party and walk the rest of the way. The streets were filled with cars parked so people could get a good look at the stars going into the part.

"So, how do you plan on catching our murderous protege anyway?" Lucifer asked Chloe.

"Well, I was thinking, what if he never left the scene of the crime," Chloe told us.

"What, and instead blended in with the other paparazzi taking photos?" Lucifer asked.

"Makes sense," I added. "It'd be the perfect cover with Nick confessing to protect him."

"Yeah, so if we recognize anyone from the crash it could be our guy."

"Right." We looked through the paparazzi stealing moments from these people's lives for money, trying to find the one creep we needed. "Are the two of you okay?"

"We're fine," Chloe said. "Why?" We looked up at Lucifer and he looked away from us. "Oh, Nick told you what happened, didn't he?"

"He did," Lucifer confirmed and I felt my heart stop. "Got to hear all about your wicked right hook and your previous man troubles." I could have killed him.

"Man troubles?" Chloe asked him confused before turning to me. "What man troubles?"

"He also told me those were his lowest points for him," Lucifer added. "One more than the other. Which I believe, actually." Chloe and I just gave him a look. "Yeah, I think our dung beetle, of all things, desires redemption for what he did to the pair of you."

"Yeah, well, he's not going about it the right way, that's for sure," Chloe told him.

"Confessing to a murder you didn't commit isn't redemption," I added.

"Yes, well, we all know what the road to Hell is paved with, don't we?" he asked with a little smirk. "Hello, hello, hello. There's a familiar face." Lucifer pointed out a young man behind the camera and he wasn't wrong. I recognized him from the crash site.

"Yeah, from the crime scene this morning." The paparazzo noticed us looking at him and lowered his camera. "I remember him."

"He spectacularly creepy as well, so that's a bonus." Lucifer started moving towards him with us right behind him when the paparazzo got an idea.

"Hey, everybody it's Chloe and Carla Decker!" he called out pointing at us. "Penelope Decker's daughters!" While we were swarmed with paparazzi, the kid ran off. Chloe and I covered our faces the best we could as the creeps behind the cameras shouted at us. One man got right behind us and asked for the dumbest thing.

"Show us your boobs, Chloe!" Chloe turned to hit him but stopped herself.

"Back off, you mouth-breathing scaven..." Lucifer ordered before noticing Chloe's fist. "Well, go on then, punch him! Come on, let's punch them all!" Lucifer had a large smile on his face and I just shook my head.

"It's not me anymore," Chloe told him before walking away.

"You should really learn the difference between past and present, Lucifer." I followed after my sister leaving Lucifer in the crowd of paparazzi. When we finally got to the guy, he quickly climbed into his car and sped off. Lucifer joined with a sigh as his tail lights vanished into the crowd.

"He's gone."

* * *

The next morning, I just laid in bed. Chloe was never going to let me off with Lucifer's comment about my "man troubles". This was a living nightmare for me. Dan was in the kitchen with Chloe while Trix unpacked her things from staying with her dad. I never understood why they didn't just leave some of her things there so she didn't have to pack every time.

"Aunt Carla?" I looked up to see Trix close the door to my room and sit next to me on the bed. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm ok Trix. Someone told a secret they promised to keep, that's all," I told her.

"Why do you look sad about it?" I sighed at her question and smiled. Why did kids have to be so intuitive?

"It's just a really bad secret, monkey."

"Is it like mommy's secret?" she asked and I gave her a confused look. "The movie?"

"You know about that?" I groaned.

"Someone found it online and I saw it."

"And you aren't scared for life?" I asked her with a small smile.

"it's just a movie." I laughed at her answer.

"That's true." I sat up and hugged her tightly. "But sometimes, some secrets should be kept to protect people we care about."

"Like why mommy didn't tell me about the movie?" she asked and I smiled.

"Exactly."

"Does your secret protect someone?" she asked me and I thought about the answer.

"It did."

"Can it not now that someone knows?" I thought about what she asked and about Lucifer.

"I don't know anymore."

* * *

I walked next to Chloe as she, Lucifer and I stopped the paparazzo from the crash site, Josh, taking a picture of a girl. Lucifer stepped in his line of shot.

"Oh, sorry. Did I ruin your creepy little moment?" Lucifer asked him. He immediately put his camera in the seat next to him and got out of the car.

"I am so happy to see you," he told us and I raised my eyebrow at his words and the obvious sweet talk he was pulling. "I felt so bad about what happened. I'm a huge fan. Hot Tub High School was my favorite growing up."

"Yes, we're really not interested in your formative spank bank years, all right?" Lucifer asked him.

"I'm so sorry about what happened. I would have done something, but I'm not good with violence." We all chuckled at his words.

"Well, lucky for us, we found you anyhow," Chloe said.

"You were looking for me?" he asked her. "Why?"

"Because she wants justice for Robbie Russell Jr.," Lucifer told him. "What is it you want, Josh." Lucifer looked into his eyes and Josh's face slaked.

"To be first. To always be first," Josh told us.

"Really?" Lucifer asked with a smile. Josh seemed to shake himself out of Lucifer's power.

"Did Nick teach you that little trick?" I asked him. "To always be first no matter the consequences to other people."

"Yeah. I learned a lot working for him," he told his grin back on his face. He was trying to impress us which, in my book, was the most suspicious thing he could do. "He's my idol. He's the best pap out there."

"So you took photos of your idol being arrested for murder?" Chloe asked him.

"I didn't know what else to do," he said slowly. "Other than what Nick would have done. Which is to be first, no matter what."

"Of course," Lucifer agreed. He checked his watch. "Just a second." He quickly turned and grabbed his camera and pointed it back at the woman and started taking pictures. Chloe looked in the car and I looked over her shoulder to see a joint half smoked.

"You like smoking pot, Josh?" Chloe asked him.

"It's for my nerves," he told her. "I have a prescription." I turned and watched a man slap the woman out of nowhere as Josh continued to take pictures. She stared at the man confused as he walked away from her.

"Good timing on that photo," Chloe congratulated falsely.

"Just lucky I guess," he told us. He turned and went back to his car and left.

"Far be it for me to call someone's morality in question, but I believe that photo was planned," Lucifer said as we turned back to the woman who'd been enjoying her meal moments before.

"Yeah," Chloe agreed.

"Makes you wonder what other photos he's taken were planned just as perfectly," I said.

* * *

That night, we sat at Lux looking through the website where Josh had posted his pictures. Lucifer and I were getting a drink from the bar.

"Look at this," Chloe told us. "Celebrity shouting matches, fistfights. Josh had the first photo on everyone."

"That's disgusting," I grimaced at the photos she was showing us.

"It escalates. Overdose. Suicide."

"Or so it appears," Lucifer said. "Well, I suppose the best way to be first is to know what'll happen beforehand."

"So he follows Robbie, intent on running him off the road, but doesn't count on his own car running off as well," Chloe guessed. "This is cold, premeditated murder."

"Nick would never condone this," I said shaking my head.

"Carla's right," Chloe agreed. "Nick's a slimeball. I just... I don't think he'd go this far. Which mean Josh maybe convinced him to take the fall. The question is: why?"

"Protege makes a mistake. Mentor takes the fall," I said.

"Well, who cares?" Lucifer said and I tossed him a dirty look. "We know Josh is guilty. Let's punish him. Ah, I could add an ironic twist, like I used to when I ran Hell."

"Yeah, no, it doesn't work that way, because I need evidence," Chloe told him.

"Well, you have plenty," Lucifer told her.

"And where'd you get the physical evidence. Did you pull it out your ass?" I asked with a sarcastic smile.

"All our evidence is circumstantial. We need concrete proof." Lucifer sighed in annoyance. "I'm going to talk to Nick..."

"Boring, boring, boring, boring!"

"You don't decide who gets punished and how," Chloe told him.

"That's exactly what I do," Lucifer said.

"Maybe in a past life, but not in this one," I said. "You're a club owner. I'm a bounty hunter. She's the cop."

"This is how it works, Lucifer," Chloe added before she left.

"Look," I started. "She can't do anything without evidence and I can't do anything without orders from the police. I'm sorry, but we can't do anything this time. Not without Nick or Josh telling the truth." I smiled at him before following Chloe and going home.

* * *

Instead of going home, as I'd hoped, Chloe took us to the precinct to interrogate Nick.

"We believe that Josh may be a very disturbed individual." Chloe handed Nick the tablet with Josh's website and pictures up for him to look through.

"God." He flipped through the disturbing pictures. "He caused all these?"

"Yeah. All of them," Chloe partially lied. We didn't know for sure if he'd caused them all after all.

"I can't believe it. I..." Nick said, having to look away from the sight.

"Tell us what really happened, Nick." Nick sighed before beginning his tale.

"I took Josh in when he was 16. He was a runaway. He was a little broken. In him, I saw a little bit of who I used to be. At least, I thought I did. So I took him under my wing. He was a natural. Taught him about all the lines the pap can't cross. You know, 'cause I just... I just wanted him to stop making the same mistakes I did. And then, two days ago, he calls me up, says he's been in a really bad accident, and said that he totally understood everything I was saying now. But it was too late. You know, someone was dead."

"So you took the fall," Chloe said. "Hoping that Josh would get a chance at a new life."

"Yeah. Nick Hofmeister finally tries to do something good with his life and he gets played," Nick laughed. "You two must really be enjoying this."

"We're really not," Chloe assured him, but I had to admit. I was enjoying him being tortured by this a bit. Not enough to admit it but enough. "Believe it or not, we forgive you."

"Well," I chimed in. "She does. You and I still have a lot of issues with each other." He just nodded understanding my words.

"Robbie Russell Jr. just wanted to live a normal life," Chloe said. "Nick, if you don't testify, Josh will do this again." Nick opened his mouth to say something but closed it. "He'll do it again." Chloe's phone started ringing. "Excuse me." She pulled the phone from her pocket and answered it. "Oh. Just a second." She pulled me out of the room and I went to sit at her desk while she answered her phone in the stairwell. I saw her come back out and go to the interrogation room. I got up and went to her side to see Nick missing.

"What the hell?" I asked confused.

"Desk sergeant?" Chloe called out and I followed her to the desk sergeant.

"Yes, Detective?"

"Where did Nick Hofmeister go? Did somebody get him?" Chloe asked her.

"Why, yes," she confessed before smiling. "It was that tall handsome British fella." I sighed and shook my head with a smile. "Oh no, I did it too, didn't I?" she asked as Chloe sighed in annoyance.

"You, and I imagine, every other cop will unless someone keeps an eye on him."

* * *

Chloe rushed to where we thought Lucifer would take Nick and Josh. When we got there, we saw Lucifer smiling at the boys while Nick held a gun on Josh.

"Stop!" Chloe yelled with her gun out and pointed at Nick. "Don't shoot him.

"Detective, you're interrupting my punishment," Lucifer whined.

"You, don't talk," Chloe ordered him keeping her eyes and gun trained on Nick. "You're lucky we figured out your insane, ironic punishment before anyone got killed. Nick, you tried to do some good, to help someone. Don't throw it all away."

"Nick, embrace who you really are," Lucifer told him. "Stop fighting it. Come on."

"Don't listen to them, Nick," I said moving forward slightly with my hands up. "You tried to help someone. It's not your fault that he turned out as he did."

"Yeah, it is," he told me. "Look what happened."

"Yeah," she agreed. "You screwed up, but you know what? You tried. That's what's important."

"Nick, don't!" I shouted as he fired his gun. Suddenly, Josh grabbed his groin and I shared a confused look with Chloe. Lucifer was also gone from his spot next to his bartender. I looked around for him and tried to think of how he moved so quickly.

"You're looking for someone?" Lucifer whispered in my ear and I nearly jumped out of my skin. I turned to look at his grinning face in shock and confusion.

"But..." Chloe looked back at where he'd been. "You were just over there."

"How did you...?" I began to ask looking up at him. He just smiled down at me, never saying a word.

* * *

Later that night, I stood next to Lucifer as Chloe talked the other officers while they booked Josh and Nick. I sighed before turning to Lucifer and looking him over.

"How'd you do it?" I asked him.

"Do what?"

"How'd you stop a bullet, and get next to me and Chloe so quickly?" I asked him. "I heard the gunshot from Nick's gun, but Josh wasn't shot. He was hit in the groin. Were their blanks? Was this staged by you and Maze?"

"That's probably more plausible to you than my angelic brother slowing time while I pluck a bullet out of thin air, isn't it?" he asked me and I laughed.

"And appearing next to me?"

"Well, of course, I can still move when he's using his angelic power," he told me and I nodded.

"Of course." I bit my lower and sighed. "Lucifer, will you ever tell me the truth about who you are?"

"I believe I have told you." I raised my eyebrow at him. "Too bad you'll never believe me." He showed me a bullet out of its casing and my eyes widened and my mouth fell open in shock. "Next time then?"


End file.
